


Adam Ruins Rhea's Nightmares

by Tezca



Series: Guardian of Harmony 'Verse [2]
Category: Adam Ruins Everything (TV)
Genre: Gen, background Adam Conover/Emily Axford, mention of body horror
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-29
Updated: 2019-01-29
Packaged: 2019-10-18 15:37:25
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,541
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17583611
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tezca/pseuds/Tezca
Summary: Rhea tried to hide the chaotic mess that is her mind.





	Adam Ruins Rhea's Nightmares

It, in all honesty, surprised her in a way how flawless Adam’s world reset was. No one acted like she still didn’t exist in one way or another. All her background, memories, those who knew her throughout her life was put neatly back in place like a missing piece to a worldwide puzzle. The same can be said for Rhea by proxy. 

And it wasn’t like she didn’t expect something to go wrong, but a part of her had some unfounded worries and Adam even had to reassure her a short time after that the world should be like how it was before Cupun or whatever came into the picture. She felt better about things the next time she strode into the high school where she worked. Principle greeted her, the same group of work friends talked to her like they knew her since she started working there several years back.

The only thing that reminded her that this wasn’t exactly the same world was seeing Murph get picked up by Melinda sometimes at the end of the day. Oh there wasn’t anything awkward about it surprisingly, in this version she and Adam were friends with the couple. But it reminded her of the happy times she had while married to Murph in the old version. 

It was just time to move on and this way she didn’t have to deal with divorce. Correction, they both didn’t have to deal with divorce. How can Murph’s heart be broken if he never knew any different? He didn’t know any better, to him she had always just been a friend. Strictly platonic. It was headed more that way anyways before the reset so no hurt feelings.

It did jokingly beg the question of how Melinda had fallen in love with a guy like Murph. She, of course, remembered everything about him and how he was from before this...timeline? But really she was happy for Murph, and the same can be said for Adam towards Melinda. He was sweet, kind and, like Adam, a gentleman. Always poignant with his declarations of love whether in a vow or taking her out to dinner.

Yes, everything seemed to be back to normal relatively speaking for her. 

Rhea on the other hand. 

Sheets tossed around more often, cold sweats and restless nights. Nightmares. It started the night off the day when her brother fixed everything, and it didn’t let up for even one night since. Nothing she couldn’t handle though. At least that is what she keeps telling herself. Everyone has the occasional bad dream right? They just wake up, acknowledge they aren’t in danger. or whatever, any more and moved on with their day. Right? Right. She was an adult, she can deal with this. She is, as Adam would put it, a big girl. Besides she was used to the nightmarish elements of what a public defender entails. The pros, however, are worth those type of nightmares. 

But this, this was different. This type of nightmare just persisted like a stubborn plague on her mind. A vivid reminder of what Cupun did to her back at the mansion. Being turned into a doll was scary enough. Being turned into an immobile wooden doll while still being 100 percent aware of everything was downright horrifying.

She was still able to hear, see and feel. Oh yes, feel. Every nerve and pain receptors were still active. Whenever Cupun picked her doll form up in his creepy, rough hands, she felt a tightness around her. As if she had gotten more constricted than she unwillingly had. Cupun even gave her a good scratch. She remembered wanting to scream as pain seared through her, but she couldn’t. She wasn’t able to.

That was the cost, she couldn’t move anything nor talk. Not the eyes, the limps, her mouth, nothing. She was trapped inside a claustrophobic body shaped container with no way to get help. She was at the mercy of a crazy magical man. 

Once again she woke up with a little fright. Her heart beat fast with a repetitive thump while her forehead dripped with sweat. Her body pumped with adrenaline as she fought to regain her breath. She looked around her room and a sense of relief came over her.

Just another one of those dreams. She was back home all safe and Cupun was trapped in that mini universe prison. 

Damn these nightmares, why can’t they just go away. Rhea hadn’t been getting a good night rest because of it. Lately, her nights consisted of one or two hours of rest, maybe three total. She would go to sleep, then the nightmare will hit vividly hard. Hard enough to make her not want to go back to sleep. 

Overall she did had sleepless nights before, but that had more to do with her job. Those times it was when she was dealing with a particularly tough case. Something external that she can control. These nightmares were internal, and something her mind was determined to take over whenever she dozed off. At least it seemed that way. 

For whatever reason naps were exempted. She’ll take it, she’ll take any little relief from those dreams she can in order to get a good enough rest. The last 5 nights had been brutal, the only solace she can take in all this was her dreams didn’t seem to get more intense. She reckoned it’ll go away at some point. It had too, fucking had too. 

One bright side she supposed was she had extra time to finish gathering evidence for a case or two.

Rhea groaned exasperatedly and fell backward back onto her bed. She ran her hands through her face. She just desperately wanted to move on with her life. Life in general. These nightmares did nothing good but bring unneeded stress and anxiety stemmed from an event no one except Emily and Adam would understand.

And yes she realized a quick solution would be to tell Adam about her nightmares so he could magically make it all better. She did promise that she would. But she didn’t want to bother him with it, or herself for that matter. Besides the occasional nightmare was, unfortunately, part of life. It’ll just naturally go away the further the whole Cupun incident was time-wise.

Easier said than done obviously. She also found herself having to look over herself and surroundings. Move around a bit to confirm that yes she isn’t trapped as a doll anymore.  
___________________________

Their cousin wanted a doll for their birthday. Specifically any old looking doll, one more for show than for playing. She had to mentally laugh bitterly at the coincidence. It was like the universe didn’t extend the courtesy of a much needed break from all this magic to her. Lucky them she thought, both Adam and Emily didn’t seem to experience any sort of fallout from what happened.

It’s been ten days now. Thank god for the miracle that is coffee, it was the only thing that kept her functioning enough to maintain the facade. She didn’t want Emily and Adam concerned for her, especially when they are shopping for someone else. 

Adam was at the front desk no doubt ruining something about old stuff to the poor cashier. In the meantime, she and Emily took to looking through the doll section of the thrift store. Just the sight of the dolls caused her anxiety to spike up. The terrifying ordeal threatened to showcase itself in the forefront of her mind. She looked aimlessly elsewhere to hopefully quell the anxiety enough. The distraction worked, barely but worked nonetheless. Rhea looked forward to the minute they leave this store. 

“....Rhea?”

“What?” Rhea blinked, confused as she turned to face Emily. 

“I asked if your cousin would like this doll?” Emily stated carefully with a hint of awkwardness.

She could see the bags under her eyes. 

Rhea quickly stammered out in an effort to reassure her friend, “Uhh yeah sure whatever, she would love that.”

Unfortunately, her answer perhaps came out a little too quickly. And probably with not enough interest. Shit, she had to do a better job with staying tuned in to reality. But this place made it hard, her mind was on the edge of being overtaken by images of the mansion. Memories of Cupun laughing and her at his mercy. She hated that loss of control, she wouldn’t wish doll transformation on her worst enemy.

Emily looked at for her with worry now shown on her face, “Are you alright? You look like you haven’t gotten any rest.”

Rhea thought about outright lying for a split second, say it was just due to work cause that would be truthful still. Work has definitely not been helping with her stress levels from sleepless nights. The temptation to do so was admittedly there on a small grain-sized level. But she knew it would be unfair to Emily, and to herself. What better person to tell than someone who was also put through Cupun’s bullshit. There was Adam too yes, but again she felt like this was something she can deal with. No need to tell him unless she absolutely had too. The tenacious aspect of her wouldn’t allow it.

She reasoned it can’t be magically induced nightmares because of the limitation Adam put on Cupun’s mini-universal prison. Nothing magical he does in that glass globe will have any effect out here. Or so what he said anyways. Cupun would have to realize everything is an illusion first before he is able to break out.

Rhea took a deep breath to calm herself, the fact one of her best friends was there helped. If she can just keep her focus mainly on Emily then she wouldn’t feel the urge to bolt on out of there. Go somewhere where there isn’t a doll of some kind in the nearby vicinity. Really her and Adam being there kept her grounded and secure in that yes things were really alright now. Adam is back to ruining things, both happy to be dating and she and Emily got their lives back.

“I’m fine its just….” Rhea’s voice quieted down.

“Huge caseload?” Emily guessed, she put on a comforting expression. In the background they both can still faintly hear Adam rambling off facts, “I can sympathize, sometimes I’m up half the night grading papers and tests. Doesn’t help when half the class is obviously cheating.”

She ended the sentence with an exasperated eye roll.

“A little bit more than usual for me, but...it’s not just that,” Rhea started before she looked around. Good, there wasn’t too many people around here.

She took some precaution though and leaned closer, “I’ve been getting nightmares about….you know.”

“What do you mean? Nightmares about what….” It dawned suddenly on Emily after she finished the sentence. 

Who was the one out of the three that got more of a raw deal compared to the other two? 

She looked at the doll in her hand and felt a wave of awkwardness overcome her. She hastily hid it behind her back, “Shit sorry. Shopping here probably not helping you then.”

Rhea waved hand to dismiss her concern, “It’s fine I can handle this, I mean would’ve been nice if this wasn’t so soon, but still.”

“I getcha,” Emily nodded softly, “Hey I had a couple of bad dreams from the whole thing too. I dreamt I still somehow didn’t exist.”

Rhea softly scoffed, “I would feel better if my nightmares came from that instead of….being turned into you know. At least we were both still...alive and moving somewhere,” Rhea gestured as she thought carefully of the right words to described what she meant.

Even then she can tell a more detailed explanation was warranted. She definitely didn’t want to come off as dismissive and uncaring. She didn’t want to downplay Emily’s post experience, not at all. But in comparison, a bad dream about nonexistence was a walk in the park to what she went through. 

“Listen how long do you think it was, in your perspective, that you didn’t exist at all on Earth?” Rhea quickly amended after a brief pause before Emily had a chance to reply.

This visibly caught Emily off a little guard, but she quickly formulated a response. She wasn’t entirely sure where this was going, not sure if she is going to like hearing it, but she wanted to know. She wanted to be able to help Rhea get through this.

“I-um...not too long? Maybe no more than a day at least?” 

“Do you remember me saying it felt like an eternity trapped as a doll?”

“Yeah, wait are you saying it literally felt that?!” Emily felt her heart sink and the color drain away from her face.

“Not entirely sure, but yeah. As if a week went by at least.”

Emily felt some regret thinking she just meant figuratively, but how could’ve she had known otherwise. She just assumed it might’ve been 20 minutes or whatever to her. Shit, she probably based that guess off of how long it took her and Adam to save her.

“A week?! Oh my god Rhea...how? I mean...I thought…” Emily found herself at a bit of a loss for words

She had more of an idea now of how traumatic that transformation must’ve been for her.

Rhea shrugged and let out a sigh of resignation, “I don’t know, something to do with time and magic I guess...all I know is it might as well be a week for me since that’s how long it felt. And most of the time all I can see was one side of the room.”

“How long have you been having them?”

“Since we got back here,” Rhea confessed, and as can be expected Emily looked more concerned for her.

Oh, it definitely felt nice to have someone be supportive and comforting. But at the same time, she just wanted to succinctly explain and get the hell out of here.

“This sounds like something we should tell Adam-” Emily suggested lightly but just as she turned around to walk, she felt a strong, but gentle grip on her arm.

“No wait, don’t. I don’t want to tell him just yet. It’s not really that bad considering in the scheme of things,” Rhea finished, unsure with herself if she was lying more than just being objective.

“But Rhea he’s got magic, he can make you feel better. Magic’d it away and boom no more bad dreams,” Emily lightly protested.

She understood not wanting to bother with something one can handle by themselves in general, but this was clearly different. This was obviously more serious than just having some random everyday bad dream. This was more than a bad dream, this was a trauma induced nightmare.

“I know. I know,” This was the part Rhea didn’t want to come to light. The unneeded worrying and fussing over something that didn’t warrant it.

Not just yet at least. 

“Just please don’t tell him. I’ll tell him if I really need to.”

And her irritating moment killer of a brother picked that precise opportunity to strike again.

“Tell me what?” Adam strode up behind Rhea. 

Rhea turned around and her resolve broke down a little bit. Enough to let some of the stress from everything through her voice. 

“Nothing! It's nothing Adam. Just buy the stupid doll so we can get the hell out of here. We’ve been here for an hour already and half of that time you were wasting someone else’s time spewing facts no one wants!” She pointedly said before she hastily walked past Adam.

She stormed off towards the front entrance with a befuddled Adam in her wake.  
___________________

_She was back there again. Same old routine every night just as she entered deep sleep. The same old scene, same old song and dance._

_Claustrophobic wooden prison in an empty mansion._

_And all she can see was the same boring door in front of her with equally as dull walls next to it. Of course, it would in vain if she tried to move. But her flight or fight response didn’t allow her critical side to shine through._

_She tried again and just like many attempts before, she didn’t budge an inch. Her conscious trapped inside an inorganic container. Couldn’t talk either, the only voice that broke through the stifling and dead silence was her own thoughts._

_She longed to hear the voice of anyone else, longed to get out of this hellish solitary prison. Long to move and talk to people._

_Long to be free._

_Except this was different. This particular nightmare was more horrifying than the previous ones. Why? What changed that? What could be so different than before? This was confusing and it didn’t make her feel any more at ease._

_She looked around as far as she could. Carefully._

_And not two seconds later, she noticed what was different._

_Other types of dolls, some wooden, some porcelain, some plastic, and all on a stand concealed in boxes. And there was a small window behind those stands._

_The chilling revelation had sent crippling dread up her spine._  
_______________________

They were at a nearby pawn shop/antique store. Its 2 days later and Adam was about to do another episode. He had the bright idea to ruin old stuff this time and somehow roped Emily and Rhea to come along. 

To be frank it was easy to agree to come for them. Emily had a rare free day from anything high school related and Rhea had a day off. Basically, there was nothing better to do. Moreso for Emily at least. Rhea could think of a few things she would rather do than be present for another episode of Adam Ruins Everything.

But she wanted the distraction. 

At the moment they were all near the desk, there were a sizable amount of people inside the store. It had to be a fucking miracle that she kept herself collected and calm rather than someone who ran on little sleep lately Rhea thought to herself. She didn’t want to do that. Unlike the Christmas episode, she had no real legit reason to go off on her brother. 

It was a commercial break and now they were about to do act three. Emily took advantage of this moment to check up on things with her. She looked aimlessly at a set of vintage knickknacks before she walked over to Rhea.

The taller woman wasn’t really looking at anything specific with apt attention. The demeanor gave off the vibe that she would rather be anywhere else. Crossed arms, listless posture and bags under her eyes. If she was her, Emily would’ve just called it a sick day and rest up. But then again there was the risk of being disturbed by nightmares.

“Hey, you’re doing alright? They haven’t gotten worse have they?”

“A little actually.”

Emily looked at her with a firm, but gentle look on her face. She still felt really bad for not bringing it up with Adam, but what could she do? Rhea didn’t want her to tell him and she wanted to stand by that request. She would be a shitty friend if she’d broke that trust the minute Rhea left the store the other day.

“Rhea I honestly think you really should tell him,” Emily suggested.

Rhea sighed dejected and gave her a reassuring smile, “I will. Soon.”

The runiee, a middle-aged woman named Sarah, balked in front of Adam over something he had said before the break. She exclaimed at him in an exaggeratedly snobbish tone.

“Are you really implying that one appraiser would value the same item differently?!”

Sarah gestured to an old toy from the turn of the century inside the glass display table, “Someone could put that at $100 dollars less?

Adam smiled joyously as he faced Sarah then at the camera with his usual, “Yep! There is no universal pricing standard at all. An item somewhere around here can be valued at $200 while somewhere else, that same item can be valued at $20.”[1]

Sarah went on the defensive as most every other runiee on his show would. She shot back as she stood up rigidly, “Hmph, must be just an exception. Everyone knows the higher price an antique is, the more rare and valuable it is. And less chance of getting a complete fake!”

Adam, as always, happily informed her. Complete with bombastic hand gestures to make his point.

“Wrong again! A shady seller can simply slap on a high price on a high quality, but an illegal replica and put out there with you none the wiser!” Adam waved his hand out and the camera panned over to visually play out what he just described.[2]

The third act seemed to move on without any problems. It was close to the end of the episode. Emily and Rhea were along for the ride for this segment (Emily added in some comment about buying an old locket in the past that she was told was from the 1800s. Turned out it was a fake made in the 1980s). Rhea for her part managed to look presentable for the camera.

Ironic. If she was completely rested, then she would’ve let genuine her enthusiasm shine through. She enjoyed vintage stuff, especially if its automobile/motorcycle related. But, due to the still ongoing nightmares, all she had was enough energy to come off as this is something to be endured.  
_________________________

Adam just transformed them all back to normal from being inside some plastic dolls. Now he was focused on wrapping it up with Sarah while the other two were just off-screen. Thank god Emily thought, that unexpected transformation couldn’t have been good for Rhea’s psyche. 

All throughout that few minutes bit (yeah it was only 5 minutes, but god it felt much longer than that), she was scared for Rhea. And on top of that, felt guilt the size of a basketball in her gut for not letting Adam know. The past day or two she was vacationing at a place between a town called Rock and another called A Hard Place. Oh if only she told him, then he would’ve done the last expert cameo in another way. But at the same time, she didn’t want to break what amounted to an unspoken promise from his sister. 

Instead, Rhea stood still in her tracks as she looked ahead blankly. Like she was stuck in some deep trance. Given what she knew about post-traumatic situations (she wasn’t an expert by any means mind you. Just read and heard enough to recognize what was going on), she was in the process of a flashback. 

Rigid as a board, she didn’t move at all when Emily gently shook her shoulders, nor seemed to respond when she called out her name. It only served to increase her anxiety and panic. 

And the chastising voice in her mind that told her she had to tell Adam about things didn’t help. She didn’t look forward to the fallout from that, she knew he was gonna be disappointed. She was gonna be disappointed. Well more than she already was with herself. The voice was right and she knew she had to do the right thing. 

“Rhea!? Rhea!? Are you alright!? Can you hear me?” 

A semi crowd of people started to form around them. Nobody else seemed to be making a move to help in any sort of way. Instead of anyone taking action as one would expect, most of them appeared to be awkwardly unsure of what to do. At least so far. Another shining example of the bystander effect Emily sarcastically thought.

“Listen you’re ok now, you’re safe. We’re not in some creepy mansion-“

“Rhea!”

Adam’s voice cut through the air as he rushed over in no time flat, obviously very worried for her. Emily sidestepped to her right as Adam gently moved her into his arms. He gently shook her shoulder with his free hand in an attempt to get her attention as he called her name in incremental desperation.

He was in complete confusion and at a loss of what was going on. Clearly, all outward signs were there to prove she didn’t need to go to the emergency room. But she was out of it at the same time. That meant something mentally had to be going on. That would explain how she appeared fine before. The faraway look of her eyes told him she must be in another world.

“Ugh crud. Adam I need to tell you something!” Emily blurted out with apologetic regret.  
_______________________

She doesn’t remember the last time she felt this awful over something she did. A bone-crushing amount of guilt, regret, and god she hated seeing that disappointed look on Adam’s face. Whatever the amount of disappointment Adam felt, she felt it more. 

Adam was still in the guest room taking care of Rhea. She wanted to help in some way, but frankly given his mood after she told him about the nightmares and how Rhea told her to not tell him, she elected to give him some space. Plus she didn’t think there was anything too useful for her to do anyway.

Hence why Emily was just outside the door in the hallway. With the amount of guilt, regret and just plain knowing the inevitable awkward talk about it, she didn’t feel like doing much else while she waited. She knew she would have to apologize, and Rhea too once she is awake. Just a few minutes earlier Adam had teleported them all to their home in a rare instance of powers use in public outside of his show. 

The anticipation made time feel slower, she leaned back casually against the wall as she fidgeted a bit with her fingers. She looked aimlessly around inbetween brief glances at the door. She hoped Rhea will be ok.

After what felt like an hour or two, but just 10 minutes in reality, a mild creak broke the silence. Emily immediately turned her head to see Adam who just came out. He closed the door before he softly strode over and stood in front of her, hands in his pockets. Even in the soft dim light in the hallway she can tell he was still very much disappointed. That was to be expected. 

She carefully asked after a few seconds of awkward heavy silence passed, “How is she?” 

Adam’s voice was low but steady, “She’ll be ok. She’s in magical sleep mode right now, probably be asleep for several hours. I repressed the memories she had at the mansion.”

A momentary pause followed before Emily spoke up again. This time she faced Adam with sincerity.

“Adam I’m…” Emily paused and let out an apologetic sign, “I’m really sorry for not telling you any sooner….I wanted to let you know badly but Rhea didn’t want me to say anything.”

Another momentary pause in silence passed.

“If I was told any sooner I would’ve done the last part of the show a little differently,” Adam simply said, a subtle hint of disappointment underneath his calm tone.

“I know but….I was conflicted and…” Her voice trailed off, unsure what to say for a split second. 

She sighed dejectedly, she felt really bad for Rhea, “I just didn’t want to ruin her trust, she is my friend and all.”

“I know.”

Adam moved to wrap his arms around her in a gentle embrace. She rested her head on his shoulder, the air felt a little lighter now. Yeah she doesn’t blame him if he was still a little annoyed at her. But at the same time, she felt at ease that it appeared he understood she wasn’t really at fault completely.  
______________________

When Rhea finally woke up, bright morning light shone through the window. She groaned groggily as her eyes cleared up. She noticed she felt good, like she had finally had a good rest in days. Oh thank the universe for giving her a break she thought. It was like she slept a good amount to catch up. She sat up and stretched as she suddenly realized this didn’t exactly look like her room. 

She glanced around in confusion and she would’ve felt the inklings of panic if she hadn’t spotted the note on the table. She tentatively grabbed it, the bottom revealed it was her brother that wrote it. She read it, the little paper explained what happened in summary. 

So that’s why it was different, she was at Adam and Emily’s house. The note also revealed what happened in summary form yesterday, which received a groan. It also explained why she doesn’t remember too much of anything yesterday after a point. She remembered Adam laying down facts in his usual way, and the next she was here. 

Apparently, she had a full blown flashback. Shit. This also meant Adam knew. Emily must’ve needed to tell him which in this case, it was completely understandable. She reckoned she would’ve done the same if the roles were reversed. 

She got out of bed, Adam must’ve magically changed her clothes. She was wearing just a t-shirt and red plaid pants. As opposed to jeans and a black and white plaid shirt. She proceeded to slowly make her way out into the hallway and to the bathroom.

One look in the mirror and yeah she definitely looked better this morning than in recent days. No nightmares that she can remember so that was great. It was only after she tamed down the wild mess that was her hair that she made her way to the kitchen.

The fact she can hear noise there told her Adam and Emily must’ve gotten up before she did. And she would be right, Emily sat at the little island counter while Adam made breakfast. The smells of eggs, bacon, and sausages wafted in the air.

“Hey Rhea, good morning,” Emily greeted with a smile. 

Rhea gave her a casual smile and a wave, “Hey, smells good in here.”

“Yeah. Adam thought you might like it, said it was one of your favorites. I take it you feel better?”

Rhea nodded and gave a smile of relief, “Yeah, I just need coffee.

“The coffeemaker is over there,” Adam pointed towards the end of the kitchen counter, uncharacteristically more serious than his usual demeanor. 

Adam still faced the stove and the pan with the bacon. If it was in any other context she would’ve been taken back a little. It wouldn’t be Adam Conover if he wasn’t so cheery about most everything. At least a little more than normal But she had a good idea what caused this. And she didn’t feel too good about it.

There were a few minutes of awkward silence as she got her coffee before Adam sighed and paused time for the three of them. He turned around to face her. Emily, meanwhile, still sat in her seat as she watched them. And yes, it did felt a kind of awkwardness. Like maybe this should be private and she should give them space despite she was involved in this anyways.

“You know you could’ve told me….” Adam began softly but matter of factly, “I could’ve snapped those nightmarish dreams under a mental block sooner.”

Rhea silently let out a barely audible but regretful sigh, she knew he was right. Damn it. She leaned back against the edge of the counter.

“I know and I was going to tell you Adam I just….I...ugh I don’t know…” Rhea said at a bit of a loss for words, “I guess I just didn’t want to deal with it so soon after all of….you know. I wanted a short break.”

“Well so do I Rhea but...” The emotional/disappointed look on Adam’s face didn’t sit well with her, “It...hurts to know that someone I care about went about a week give or take with nightmares….and...and it really hurts to think what should’ve been a fun little part of the show ended up causing someone I care about to have a flashback.”

Rhea crossed her arms and exhaled apologetically, “Adam I’m really am sorry for not telling you right away but really I could’ve handled it! It was just my mind conjuring up those bad dreams. Nobody made me have them, nobody forced them on me. It was all internal. Naturally created by my mind.”

There was a brief pause between the siblings. Rhea suddenly felt like maybe ‘naturally created’ wasn’t exactly the right phrase of words. Like it came off as if she didn’t think magic shouldn’t be a reality all her life. She felt a wave of regret come over her hard.

“Naturally created?” Adam repeated with confusion, his mind stopped like a record on those two keywords, “You mean in other words not magically induced? Rhea you...you know you can trust me right?”

It didn’t feel right to hear a pained voice from her brother.

Adam got a clear feeling there was more to this. It wasn’t like Rhea to feel averse to magic in any way, she had grown up with it thanks to him. And even wasn’t above using it herself to ruin him in his show like when she told him about her job as a public defender. 

Emily awkwardly decided now was the time to perhaps give them a little space, so she quietly headed out to the living room with her phone. 

“I do Adam you know that-” Rhea protested as she pushed herself off the counter. 

“You went 12 days without saying a word!” Adam quickly pointed out, his gaze fixated on her, “And I'm not gonna lie, I’m getting the feeling it would’ve been longer if what happened at the store didn’t happen!”

Rhea sighed semi sharply as she walked aimlessly over to the counter. Her back was to Adam. She took in a breath and slowly let out a slow but steady breath before she turned back around. She realized Adam was probably right with a stark realization. Might as well get her feelings out.

“I’m...I’m afraid alright! I’ve been a little afraid ever since that long haired….bastard turned me into something he can control,” Rhea admitted, her voice a little shaky but still composed. 

Rhea looked down at the floor as she continued. It was a bit hard to come up with the right words to describe her actions on the spot, but ‘afraid’ felt to be a close enough descriptor. 

“...he took away my freedom, I was trapped and helpless. No way for me to escape. I couldn’t talk, I couldn’t move…all I had left under my control was my thoughts!”

Adam didn’t say anything, his initial response was to put her in a warm, comforting hug. He felt her body get less tense and her head was on his shoulder. 

Rhea glanced at him before she looked ahead aimlessly, “...Emily said it took you guys around 20 minutes but it felt longer to me.”

“Yeah, he um...boasted about that during my battle with him. Said used his magic to change how time flowed in that room. Went much slower than the rest of the place for anyone inside.”

Adam kept up the hug for a good minute or two before the two mutually broke apart. Didn’t want it to go into awkward territory of course, but Rhea very much appreciated it. She needed it. 

“And when I said I’m a little afraid earlier,” Rhea began, she didn’t want Adam to think it was cause of him, “I really don’t mean you, I’m very much used to you having them obviously...I just mean…” She trailed off, sorta unsure on the right words.

Rhea exhaled softly, “...I guess I wasn’t very much used to someone else having powers outside of your show.”

“We all weren’t Rhea.”

She nodded, it was unexpected to say the least.

“I mean yes I would’ve felt relief if we had found anything about your powers, but for the most part I was just very much used to only you with magic. And I can trust you not to do anything shitty with them.”

“I get that.”

“But after the whole shit Cupun put us through, I’m feeling a little...wary at the moment of anyone else that isn’t you using magic outside of your tv show. ” 

“Understandable,” Adam replied with a small smile, the air started to feel lighter around them.

A few seconds of silence passed followed by a casual chuckle.

“For a guy that was from Alaska he sure liked throwing fireballs at me.”

Rhea laughed lightly, “I still kinda wished I’ve seen you go against him just so I can believe with my own eyes that...that-”

“That someone as nerdy and uncool as me could hold my own up against someone like him?”

“Well...I didn’t want to say it like that but yeah.”

Adam laughed then they fell into a comfortable silence, “Yeah can’t really believe it myself either.”

“So my nightmares are under some kind of mental block now?” Rhea asked for clarification. She remembered something that was mentioned earlier on like that.

Adam nodded, “Yep, as well the memories that contributed to those nightmares. Which was practically the time you were at that room right up to just a second before me and Emily came in.”

Rhea nodded in understanding, “Oh, alright. That sounds good enough to me, I did have a pleasant rest last night.”

“That was the idea,” He said.

It was good to hear his bright and happy voice again.

Adam just got an idea and piped up suddenly, “You know if it’ll make you better I can show you where I have the glass container stored.”  
Rhea thought on it for a few seconds before she simply gave a nod. Adam proceeded to lead her to the living room while made a door shaped portal appear in the living room. Emily looked up from her phone where she just checked her work email and glanced at the portal before at Adam and Rhea.

She got the vibe everything was ok now so she put her phone aside and stood up as Adam started to speak.

“Hey Emily, I was gonna show Rhea where Cupun’s prison is. You want to come?”

“Oh yeah sure. I thought you were going start ruining something before breakfast for a second there,” Emily joked lightly.

Adam chuckled and shook his head, “Nah, not on an empty stomach.”

“Still thank goodness though,” Rhea added with a light smile as Adam started to lead the two through the portal.

On the other side revealed a long steril white corridor. There weren’t any other decorations on the walls, no accented colors or tiles on the floor. Not even the ceiling had anything to break the white monotony. Just add some fluorescent lights and this hallway wouldn’t look too out of place at a medical facility or laboratory.

The two girls looked around in, their curiosity about this place at a good amount. Adam meanwhile walked at a brisk pace with his hands behind his back. Like if they were in a movie and Adam was head of a super secret agency in the process of giving them a tour around. Or a secret room to brief them of their mission.

Heh, there’s a funny image, Adam as a high ranked spy. 

The walls suddenly led into a vast room that seemed to go forever in all directions. The look was the same deal as the corridor they just left; white, white and more white. Adam stopped and turns around to face the other two.

“Adam, what exactly is this place?” Emily asked as she and Rhea stopped in front of him.

He sported a happy smile, “Glad you asked. This is what I like to call the Void, the White Void. It sits in the space between all of the infinite alternative universes out there,” Adam began to explain as he made a big gesture.

The two glanced around just as Adam snapped and all of a sudden a soft but warm blue energy enveloped all three occupants of this place. Adam was the only one that didn’t seem to be fazed by the corridor suddenly moving until it disappeared into the horizon Emily and Rhea. As if the scenery all around them moved while they were still stationary.

Behind Adam was a big globe that appeared to be made up of a universe. The two others looked at it with awe.

“Whoa…” Emily exclaimed softly as Adam faced them.

He was obviously proud of his work here. 

“So what I did was I put the fake one that serves as Cupun’s prison within an actual alternative universe that I found and shrank it down to the size you see before you.”

“So that’s extra protection then?” Rhea clarified.

“Yep! I could’ve created a universe where there wasn’t any Earth, I didn’t want to put anyone in danger when he does get out. But I can’t create a universe, so I found one that was the closest to the conditions I wanted.”

He continued, “And I set it up so I’ll get a mental alert should he ever breaks out of this outer barrier,” He finished as he turned back around, his back towards the girls.

He moved his hands around and proceeded to expand the universe before them. They were all once again covered in a light blue glow as the scenery changed and moved along. Various stars and galaxies flew pass them at breakneck speed. And while they didn’t think about it, the warm glow protected them all from space and allowed them to be still.

Rhea looked around, even after all these years there are moments where she feels amazed all over at how powerful her brother can be. As if this was the first time she saw first hand what he can do. She realized she definitely felt more at ease about things already than before. This was helping. Plus it was Adam and not some sociopathic fucker with this amount of power. 

“I’m getting reminded of one of my childhood wishes,” Rhea laughed.

Emily laughed lightly in response before it faded into a smile, “I’ll probably go a little too nuts with them in the beginning to be honest.”

“Yeah haha, I’ll probably end up zapping up another vintage car or two,” Rhea pauses than added, “...and a motorcycle.”

Before too long everything stopped moving and there was a forcefield in front of them. Unlike the universe that surrounded them, the forcefield wasn’t too big, just enough to comfortably surround the glass container. 

Adam took a step to the side as Rhea walked up to the barrier. She can easily see the mini universe swirling around inside.

“The barrier is there to prevent that from breaking prematurely,” Adam explained as he pointed towards the middle.

“I can see that,” Rhea said before she faced Adam.

Just seeing this before her eyes were confirmation enough that yes she don’t have to worry much anymore. Yes, there was always going to be that little question of when and if that bastard was going to break out. But she felt in her gut that it's not gonna be a reality in the near future. 

If someone else were to suddenly pop up tomorrow and had magic, she felt like she’ll still be a little leery. But this did make her feel more secure.

“Thanks for showing this. I feel better about things,” Rhea gave him a soft smile.

“That great to hear.”

Emily was on Adam’s other side when he put his arms around her and Rhea. One snap later and the trio were back at the house. The portal disappeared and time around them flowed around them once again. 

They walked into the kitchen as Adam made a bowl of oatmeal with soy sauce appear on the table. Emily and Rhea looked at him in a bit of a surprise.

“Wait Adam you’re not gonna have what you were cooking earlier? Rhea asked.

“Oh no I made those for you and Emily,” Adam said as he walked around to fill up plates for them, “I’m sticking to my usual breakfast regiment.”

“You do realize you can have something that actually,” Rhea took a glance at the unappealing bowl of oatmeal then back at Adam, “..taste good for breakfast?”

“I know but I already did that yesterday. Moderation is key and besides, that bowl of oatmeal is much healthier for you and it’s good.”

“No amount of magic is gonna make that taste good,” Emily confidentially stated with a light laugh. 

She had tried a taste of that stuff before.

“I’ll take that as a challenge for another day,” Adam replied as he put down two plates of food on the counter. 

Rhea commented as they settled to start eating, “Still a weird combo to eat though.

**Author's Note:**

> 1   
>  https://www.antiquers.com/threads/4-myths-the-general-public-believes-about-antiques.23870/
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> 2 https://antiques.lovetoknow.com/Antique_Reproductions


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